Implant and Crown

[Shoremike2006]

Hello, I’m

I am wondering if anyone c can provide some advice. My bottom front tooth had an infection and needed to be removed. I am having an implant put in, but the area is very tiny. The implant is costing almost $3000 without insurance. My dentist needs to put a crown on it and said it would be between $3000 or $4000, insurance won’t cover. But the time I had the tooth pulled, x-rays taken, bone graft, and a fake tooth, the whole procedure is costing almost $10,000 for one tooth. Does it seem right? Any help would be appreciated.

Mike

 

[Dr M]

It depends on where you get the implant done, but unfortunately it is expensive. I always try and tell my patients that you can try and break the process into smaller bite size pieces. Get the bone graft and implant done. If the tooth is not in an aesthetic area, you can hold off on the crown. Usually a healing abutment is placed, in order to shape the tissue. When patients can't afford the crown, it is possible to walk around for a year with the healing abutment and then only do the crown in the following year. If the dentist is scared that the teeth will shift and close the gap, then a retainer can be made, to wear at night, in order to keep the space until the next year.